Kashmir Women’s Meet 26th July 2012 in New Delhi

Tuesday 24 July 2012

Dear Friends,

Women of Jammu and Kashmir have paid a hard price for the decades of conflict and strife. Although the state government has not undertaken a study of their present status, independent data collected by international and national women’s organizations show Kashmiri women to be the biggest victims of sexual violence in the world. Kashmiri women are degraded and humiliated by the security forces in the state under the pretext of security checks every day. Rape continues to be a major instrument of oppression with the police refusing to register cases, and bring the guilty to book. Justice is denied with the victims suffering from deep trauma that often results in suicide. Cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are on the rise, with doctors at Kashmir’s sole Psychiatric Diseases Hospital maintaining an upsurge in other mental diseases as well like bipolar disorders, panic, phobia, anxiety and sleep disorders. The conflict has widowed hundreds of women who have been plunged into destitution. Enforced disappearances have resulted in the emergence of ‘half widows’ who are denied compensation, cannot remarry, and remain waiting for their husbands to re-appear. This adds to the stress and anxiety with many women having had to return to their parent’s home with their children. Re-marriage comes at a price, with women often having to desert their children. The state and central governments have shown no sensitivity to the plight of women who have been left to fend for themselves. The Jammu and Kashmir government has failed to collect basic data, ignoring demands and petitions for Justice at different levels. The Centre for Policy Analysis has started a major Kashmir initiative, in collaboration with non-BJP, non-Congress political parties in the state, details of which can be found on our website www.cpadelhi.org To take this forward we are organizing a Public Meeting: Women’s Forum on Justice and Rights of Kashmiri Women at Constitution Club, New Delhi on July 26, 2012, 3 pm to 6 pm.

Please do find the time to attend and participate in this interactive conference.